Being an influencer is the new big thin to get rich in this era. It is not about being a celebrity, but to be someone who can influence the people that looks up to you. Your fan base is your network, they are the people who can sell your business to everyone without you breaking the bank for Ads. Like the example you gave, Kim Kardashian is a highly endowed figure to women, most young females want to be just like her, most men simp on her too, while other genuinely like her personality. So yeah, she will definitely sell out on her first day.
These days, being an influencer is like having your own media channel and community, all in one. It is less about old-school "celebrity" status and more about actually moving people with your voice or your story, no matter what you are selling. Your network is your true marketing team, and half the time, you do not even need to pay them. They share and hype what you do because they feel connected. Kim K "brand" is a mix of her story, her confidence, the image she projects, and yeah, even the controversy. Some people want to be her, some want to be with her, but the effect is the same: whatever she puts out, it gets attention and usually sells out
It's only for people who want to trade their privacy with money.
You make people know YOU more than what you offer or your service, so the spotlight is YOU, whenever you doing something, people mostly care with YOU. Personally I don't like that, I'd rather show my service/product without revealing my face, which is known as faceless content.
If people use your service/product without knowing the creator, trust me, your service/product are really good because they only cares with results.
Not everyone wants their personal life out there just to build a business. Trading privacy for popularity is not for everyone, and there is a real cost to being "the brand". Every move gets watched, sometimes judged. I respect the "faceless" model. If a product stands on its own and people trust it without needing to know the person behind it, that is pure quality. It means you are building something solid enough that reputation is tied to results, not personality. But I also notice that, in today's world, some people actually prefer the human story, even if it means less privacy for the creator. Maybe that is why we see both models working side by side, some folks want connection, others just want the service
no doubt that fame is fetching a lot of people millions of dollars by building brand, and its somehow becoming a normal way of life in the society today. well fame has its advantage and also the disadvantages. and i guest this part you have mentioned is one of the advantages. i can see how celebrity nowadays promote their brand and become more wealthy. how this is done is that most of them build company secretly and run promotion or ads for it without people noticing that its theirs. while some sign an endorsement deal with a particular company for their image to be used for promotion and they get paid. but the sad story is that when celebrity career has been ruined by their mistakes, they cant be signed for any endorsement deal. or they cant even run their own promotion, because your business succeeds as a result of followers and fans. when your followers get dissatisfied by your services. because that will surely be the end of the whole story.
the truth of the matter is that not everyone can succeed by building brand and succeed from it...
I agree, there is a "sad story" side that people do not talk about. Some celebs even hide their ownership at first, maybe to avoid backlash if things flop, or because they want the product to stand on its own first. But the downside is terrifying: if their reputation takes a hit, no amount of marketing can save the brand. The market (and fans) are unforgiving, especially now with everything online
...this is strictly for celebrity.
The numbers and case studies show celebrities have the biggest head start, no question. But there are regular people (YouTubers, niche influencers, even smart local business owners) who build mini-brands, maybe not at a global level, but with real impact and loyalty. The scale is different, but the rules about trust and reputation are the same